MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista on Monday said most of the informal settlers who remain along Agham Road are professional squatters.
He said that they received an intelligence report that a group in the area has been collecting P1,000 from the families in exchange for "protection" from demolition.
"May notice po sila kasi 'yung unang notice na nanggaling dyan is that lahat ng resulta ng consultation na ginawa ng government ...so lahat ng mga pangyayari dyan after the election ay magse-self- demolish ho sila.
"May isang organization dyan, ang intelligence report po natin na naniningil ng tig P1,000 daw isang grupo dyan sa bawat isang pamilya dyan na ipaglalaban sila so ito yung mga nanggugulo ngayon...mga professional squatters po ang mga ito," Bautista said in a radio interview.
He said that based on their list of beneficiaries for relocation, some 8,000 families have been relocated to a decent housing project.
"Yung 8,000 beneficiaries ay nalipat na po. Ang mga naiwan na po dyan ay yung mga di naman talaga beneficiaries na pinagkakakitaan nila yung lupa na 'yan," he said, citing that these unscrupulous residents have offered to bedspacers the houses in the area for P2,500.
He said that the notice to self-demolish expired Sunday but the families are given within three years to vacate the area that started September 2010.
Bautista assured those remaining families that they would be relocated if they choose to be resettled to the designated area by the National Housing Authority.
"Kung papayag silang magpa-relocate, mare-relocate sila. Very lenient naman po ang national goverment for the past three years ang NHA napakabait," he said.
The mayor also noted that the development of the property by a private firm, Ayala Land Corp., will benefit several residents who would be employed as construction workers for business establishments to be constructed in the place, including three hotels and business processing outsourcing firms.
He added that the 1,500 families who stayed in the area are not covered by the P17,000 government subsidy because the place is not declared as a danger zone.
The Quezon City government is set to clear Agham Road of illegal structures within the year.